Hartland man scheduled to appear in court again in late Sept.
Joshua Sterling Trail, 42, of Hartland, was denied bail when he appeared in provincial court in custody on Aug. 28. He was remanded to jail until his next court appearance on Sept. 25 at 9 a.m.
Trail was arrested this week after turning himself in to the authorities on a Canada-wide warrant. He was charged with breach of a release order by allegedly cutting off his ankle bracelet on July 29 in Ashland. He has a prior criminal record.
On Aug. 27, Trail sat in handcuffs as his co-accused, Larry Shane Kennedy, 50, of Kirkland, waited in the courtroom for a decision about their joint three-day trial, scheduled for this week. Trail failed to appear for the start of the trial on Aug. 25.
They were each charged with possession of cocaine and possession of methamphetamine, both for the purpose of trafficking, on Feb. 16 in Kirkland; indictable robbery of a motor vehicle on Feb. 5 at Wotstak (Woodstock First Nation); illegal possession of a firearm (a Russian SKS semi-automatic rifle), and improper storage of a gun on Feb. 16 at Kirkland.
Judge Karen Lee postponed the trial until December. The court heard a resolution is being sought with the Crown on the provincial charges. However, the federal Crown intends to move ahead with its trial on drug trafficking. A monitoring hearing is scheduled for Sept. 25 at 9:00 a.m.
Trail appeared in provincial court via video on May 22 for a bail hearing and was released with conditions, including a curfew and the requirement to wear an electronic monitoring device attached to his ankle; however, he was subsequently returned to custody.
Kennedy will be back in court on Sept. 9 at 9:30 a.m. He and a co-accused, Dominique Gray, 26, of no fixed address, are scheduled for plea on other drug trafficking charges.
Kennedy and Gray were jointly charged with possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking on May 29 in Kirkland. They were scheduled for a plea on Aug. 19, but the matter was adjourned to the new date to allow Gray more time to secure legal counsel.
Kennedy was also charged with breaching a release order and unauthorized possession of ammunition for the same incident on May 29. His plea on those charges was adjourned until his next court appearance on Sept. 9.
Kennedy appeared in provincial court in custody on June 19 and was released from custody with conditions (ankle bracelet). He was denied bail on June 2 and subsequently released with the Crown’s consent.
Joshua Trail was also charged with fraudulent impersonation for a separate incident on Dec. 9, 2024, at Richmond Corner. He pleaded not guilty, and his trial date was rescheduled for March 11, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. That trial date will have to be moved up because Trail is in custody.
Trail was also charged with breaking into a dwelling house on Charlotte Street to commit mischief, unlawful entry for the purpose of committing an offence, possession of break-in tools, possession of a stolen Blue Cross card, mischief causing property damage to a door, interfering with the lawful use of property, and illegal possession of methamphetamine for an incident between Sept. 6-7, 2024, in Woodstock. He pleaded not guilty, and his trial was set for July 23-24, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. That trial date will have to be moved up due to the fact that Trail is in custody.
A co-accused, Dynielle DeMerchant, 28, of Woodstock, appeared in provincial court on June 3 and pleaded not guilty to the same list of charges for the alleged break-in on Charlotte Street. Her trial date was also set for July 23-24, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.
DeMerchant also pleaded not guilty to possession of stolen property and breach of probation in connection with a separate incident on Sept. 17, 2024, in Woodstock. Her trial is scheduled for July 23-24, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.
